Venetian-blind hold-down bracket



June 3, 1969 J. A. ANDERLE VENETIAN-BLIND HOLD-DOWN BRACKET Filed March 15, 1968 FIG. I

United States Patent US. Cl. 160178 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A universal Venetian-blind hold-down bracket has a gudgeon-pin recess which is alongside of the body of the bracket. The bracket is adapted for use as either a right or a left, being usable at either end of the bottom bar of a Venetian blind. The bracket is adapted to be secured against the face of a door or against a vertical buildingsurface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind. The bracket is also adapted to be attached to either jamb of a window opening by being secured against the jamb-face which confronts the opposite jamb. Further, the bracket is adapted to be secured against the top surface of the sill of a window opening.

Background of the invention Venetian-blind hold-down brackets, which are used in pairs, serve to hold down the bottom bar of a fully extended blind and thereby prevent the blind from swinging. At an open window a blind tends to swing with the wind. When a blind is mounted on a door, the blind tends to swing and bang against the door when the door is opened and closed.

The hold-down brackets have recesses which receive gudgeon'pins that project from the opposite ends of the bottom bar. To avoid the necessity of manufacturing the brackets as rights and lefts, and then pairing a right with a left, a hold-down bracket is ordinarily of such construction that it can be used as either a right or a left. Venetian-blind hold-down brackets which can be used either as rights or lefts, i.e. at either end of a bottom bar, are disclosed in US. Patents 2,298,892, 2,402,769, 2,614,- 784, and 2,901,035.

Referring to Venetian blinds mounted at window openings, the trade speaks of inside and outside mountings. In the case of an inside mounting the blind is nested within the window opening, and where hold-down brackets are used they are secured against the top surface of the sill or, alternatively, against the confronting faces of the two jambs. Some window openings have no sills, making it necessary in the case of an inside mounting to secure the hold-down brackets against the confronting faces of the jarnbs. In the case of an outside mounting the Venetian blind is wider than the window opening and spreads across the window opening, usually on the room side thereof. Where hold-down brackets are used, they are secured against an adjacent vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind, such vertical surface ordinarily being the surface of window trim or the surface of the building Wall. For a Venetian blind mounted on a door, the hold-down brackets are secured against the face of the door, which is also a vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind.

While the hold-down brackets of Patents 2,298,892, 2,614,784, and 2,901,035 have been extensively used, they 3,447,586 Patented June 3, 1969 have been a source of difiiculty because none of them is adapted to be secured against the confronting faces of the jambs of a Window opening. In ordering Venetian blinds and hold-down brackets for mounting within a window opening, the Venetian-blind contractor may fail to inform the Venetian-blind manufacturer that the hold-down brackets will have to be attached to the confronting faces of the jambs. The Venetian-blind manufacturer is likely to furnish brackets such as in Patent 2,298,892, 2,614,784 or 2,901,035. Then the installer finds that the hold-down brackets cant be used, and there is the lost time and expense incident to obtaining usable hold-down brackets and returning to install them. A like situation may arise where a Venetian-blind contract is entered into before a building is completed. The Venetian-blind contractor may plan on using hold-down brackets of Patent 2,298,892, 2,614,- 784 or 2,901,035 and attaching the brackets to the window sills. Arriving with the blinds and the hold-down brackets, the installer may find that the window openings have marble or tile sills. Even if the building owner will counternance the attachment of the hold-down brackets to the sills, the installer is not likely to want to run the risk of doing so, for fear of breaking some of the sills. Again there is the lost time and expense incident to obtaining other hold-down brackets and returning to install them.

The hold-down bracket of patent 2,402,769 is adapted to be secured against the confronting faces of the jambs, as Well as being adapted to be secured against the top surface of the sill or against a vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind. However, the bracket of Patent 2,402,769 hasnt found favor with Venetianblind users and hasnt been used on a large scale. The bracket of patent 2,402,769 has a duplex configuration which provides two gudgeon-pin recesses that are designated 15 and 16 in that patent. When the bracket of patent 2,402,769 is attached to the sill or to the jamb and is used as a left, the recess 15 of the patent is intended to receive the gudgeon pin and the recess '16 of the patent is intended to be functionless. When the bracket of Patent 2,402,769 is attached to the sill or jamb and is used as a right, the gudgeon-pin recesses are reversed and the recess 16 of the patent is intended to receive the gudgeon pin and the recess 15 of the patent is intended to be functionless. But the situation on this score is exactly the opposite when the bracket of Patent 2,402,769 is secured against vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind. When secured against such a vertical surface and used as a left, the recess 16 is intended to receive the gudgeon pin and the recess 15 is intended to be functionless; and when secured against such a surface and used as a right, the recess 15 is intended to receive the gudgeon pin and the recess 16 is intended to be functionless. Users of Venetian blinds, particularly casual or transient users, tend to be confused by the different gudgeonpin-receiving recesses provided by a pair of brackets in accordance with Patent 2,402,769. This causes user to fumble and try to put a gudgeon pin in the wrong recess.

Another disadvantage of the hold-down bracket of Patent 2,402,769 is that it occupies more space than is desirable in some installations.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides a Venetian-blind holddown bracket which is universal, being usable either as a left or as a right and being adapted to be secured against any of the surfaces on which a hold-down bracket is customarily placed. The bracket has a generally flat body which is adapted to be attached to either jamb of a window opening, the pair of brackets being secured against the confronting faces of the jambs. Atone end of the bracket-body there is a generally fiat foot which is adapted to be secured against the top surface of the sill of a window opening. Alternatively, the flat foot may be secured against a vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind, e.g. the face of a door or a vertical surface adjacent to a window opening.

In accordance with one feature of the invention the bracket has a gudgeon-pin recess which is alongside of the body of the bracket adjacent to the end thereof that is opposite to the foot of the bracket. The gudgeon-pin recess has an opening which faces the foot of the bracket and has a wall opposite to such foot-facing opening. In accordance with a feature of the invention the wall of the recess opposite to the foot-facing opening of the recess consists of a web which extends perpendicularly from the body of the bracket at the end thereof that is away from the foot of the bracket. In accordance with another feature of the invention the gudgeon-pin recess has side walls consisting of spaced cheeks that are positioned alongside the body of the bracket and are perpendicular thereto, these spaced cheeks extending from the aforesaid web toward the foot of the bracket.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention the spaced cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess are convergent for a distance as they proceed toward the foot of the bracket from the aforesid Web, and this provides the gudgeon-pin recess with a constriction that is spaced from the aforesaid web. In accordance with a still further feature of the invention the cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess extend beyond the constriction and diverge as they approach the foot-facing opening of the recess.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, when the hold-down bracket is made of sheet metal, the Web of the gudgeon-pin recess opposite to the foot-facing opening of the recess is sheet metal that is folded to extend from the end of the bracket body that is away from the foot of the bracket; also the checks of the gudgeonpin recess are sheet metal that is folded to extend from the opposite edges of such web.

In accordance with still another feature of the invention the gudgeon-pin recess is bisected by a plane which passes through the center of the bracket-foot and is perpendicular to both the bracket-foot and the bracket-body. In accordance with a further feature of the invention the bracket is symmetrical about such plane.

The body of the bracket is normally provided with a screw hole to receive a screw for attaching the bracket to a jamb and, in accordance with a feature of the invention, the bracket-body is provided with a small hole that is spaced from the screw hole and through which a small nail or other fastening can be driven into the jamb to prevent swivelling of the bracket on the screw when the foot of the bracket is not engaged with a window sill. In accordance with a further feature of the invention the bracket is symmetrical about a plane which passes through the center of the small hole and is perpendicular to both the body of the bracket and the foot of the bracket. In accordance with a still further feature of the invention the axis of the small hole extends between the cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess and the separation of the cheeks provides space for the insertion of a tool for use in driving a fastening through the small hole.

In accordance with a still further feature of the invention the gudgeon pin extending from the end of the bottom bar of the blind has a diameter slightly greater than the spacing of the cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess at the constriction so that, when the gudgeon pin is forced sidewise into the gudgeon-pin recess, it snaps past the constriction and is then rotatable in the recess.

Brief description of the drawings, which show the presently-preferred embodiment of the invention FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the hold-down bracket, showing the face of the bracket-body which is exposed when'the bracket is attached to a jamb.

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the bracket looking from the back of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view of the bracket looking from the bottom of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation showing the lower portion of a fully-extended Venetian blind that is mounted inside of a window opening. The opening has a sill and is provided with trim. Hold-down brackets of the invention are secured against the top surface of the sill and are engaged by gudgeon pins that project from the ends of the bottom bar of the blind.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, to a larger scale.

FIG. 6 shows the hold-down bracket in front elevation, the bracket being attached to the jamb of a window opening for an inside mounting of a Venetian blind.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the bracket positioned for an outside mounting of a Venetian blind. The foot of the bracket is secured against the vertical surface of the building wall, adjacent to a window opening which has no trim.

FIG. 8 is a view looking down on the bracket in FIG. 7, a portion of the building wall being shown in horizontal section and an end portion of the bottom bar of the blind being shown in top plan. The bottom bar is untilted, i.e. the opposite longitudinal edges thereof are at the same level.

FIG. 9 is a view of the bottom-bar end-cap-andgudgeon-pin taken generally on the line 99 of FIG. 8. The end cap is in central vertical section and the gudgeon pin is in elevation.

FIG. 10 is an elevation looking from the right of FIG. 9.

Description of the embodiment that is presently preferred Except as may be otherwise indicated, the description hereinafter refers to the particular form of the invention that is shown in the drawing; it does not necessarily refer to any other form in which the invention may be embodied. The claims, however, do embrace other forms in which the invention may be embodied. The best mode thus far contemplated of carrying out the invention is herein disclosed. Nevertheless the disclosure is by way of illustration and example, since other specific modes are possible and in some instances it may be feasible to dispense with one or more features of the invention.

FIGS. 1-3 show the unmounted hold-down bracket, which is designated as a whole by 15. This bracket is made as a l-piece sheet-metal stamping. It has a generally fiat body 16 and a generally flat foot 17 that projects perpendicularly from'one end of the body. Adjacent to the other end of the body 16 and positioned alongside the body, there is a gudgeon-pin recess 18. This recess has an opening 19 that faces the foot 17 of the bracket. Opposite the opening 19 the recess 18 has a wall which consists of a sheet-metal web 20 that extends perpendicularly from the bracket-body 16 at the end thereof that is away from the foot 17. The recess 18 has side walls which consist of spaced sheet-metal cheeks 21, 21 that are positioned alongside the bracket-body 16 and are perpendicular thereto. These cheeks extend from the web 20 toward the foot of the bracket. For a distance from the web 20 the cheeks 21, 21 converge as they extend toward the foot 17 of the bracket. This convergence provides the gudgeon-pin recess 18 with a constriction at 22 that is spaced from the web 20. The cheeks 21, 21 extend beyond the constriction at 22 and diverge as they approach the opening 19 which faces the foot of the bracket 17.

The bracket 15 is adapted to be mounted on either jamb of a window opening by being secured against the jamb '5 face which confronts the opposite jamb; see FIG. 6. To receive a screw for jamb-mounting the bracket, the brack et body 16 is provided with a screw hole 24. Surrounding the hole 24 there is a circular embossed Zone of sheet metal 25 that provides a frusto-conical seat at 26 to re ceive a tapered screw-head; see FIG. 6.

Unless the window opening has a sill and the foot 17 is firmly against the sill, the bracket 15 will tend to swivel about a mounting screw driven into a jamb through hole 24. Spaced from the screw hole 24 the bracket body 16 has a small hole 27 through which a small nail or other suitable fastening can be driven into the jamb to prevent swivelling of the bracket. The small hole 27 is horizontally aligned with the center of the gudgeon-pin recess 18, the axis of the small hole extending between cheeks 21, 21 in a plane halfway between the cheeks. The space between the cheeks is suflicient for the insertion of a tool for use in driving a fastening through the small hole 27, e.g. a punch to engage the head of a nail started through the hole 27.

The hold-down bracket 15 is also adapted to be mounted on the sill of a window opening or on a door, or on a wall. In the case of a Venetian blind mounted on a door, the foot 17 of the bracket is secured against the face of the door, the face being a vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind. In the case of an outside mounting of a blind at a window opening, the hold-down bracket is mounted on the adjacent wall or on the window-trim if there be conventional trim; both the wall and conventional trim provide a vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind. The bracket 15 is adapted to be sill-mounted by securing the foot 17 against the top surface of the sill; see FIGS. 4 and 5. The bracket 15 is adapted to be door-mounted by securing the foot 17 against the face of the door, and is adapted to be wall-mounted by securing the foot 17 against the wall; see FIGS. 7 and 8. To receive a mounting screw the foot 17 is provided with a hole 30. Surrounding the hole 30 there is a circular embossed zone of sheet metal 31 that provides a frusto-conical seat at 32 (FIG. 1) to receive a tapered screw-head. To prevent swivelling of the bracket about a screw inserted through hole 30, fingers 34, 34 are struck down adjacent to the opposite edges of the foot 17. These fingers, which are aligned with the center of screw hole 30, project into the window sill, the door, or the wall and prevent swivelling of the bracket about a mounting screw inserted through hole 30.

In FIG. 4 a Venetian blind 40 is mounted in conventional manner within a window opening 41 that is provided with wooden jambs 42, 42 and a wooden sill 44. The Venetian blind includes slats 45 and a bottom bar 46 which are suspended and articulated together by ladders 47, 47. The ladders shown are of the string" type. These have front and back longitudinal elements which are cordlike, and the front longitudinal element is the only portion of the ladder that is seen in FIG. 4. Associated with each of the ladders 47, 47 there is a lift cord which is positioned back of the front longitudinal element of the ladder and which is not shown. The lower ends of the lift cords and the lower ends of the longitudinal elements of the ladders are suitably secured to the bottom bar 46 in known manner (not shown).

Telescoped onto the ends of the bottom bar 46, and in gripping relation therewith, are cuplike polyethylene end caps 48, 48 that are provided with hard nylon gudgeon pins, each of which is designated as a whole by 49 in FIGS. 8 and 9. Hold-down brackets 15, 15 are attached to the sill 44 as shown to receive the cylindrical heads 49a of the gudgeon pins; see also FIG. 5. Each bracket 15 is attached by a screw 50 which passes through the hole 30 in the foot 17 of the bracket and is driven into the sill 44, thereby securing the foot of the bracket against the top surface of the sill 44. In some instances the body 16 of each bracket 15 would be placed against the adjacent jamb face. This is unnecessary, however; the brackets 15 may be spaced from the jambs as shown in FIG. 4 for use with a blind that is somewhat narrower than the width of the window opening 41.

When fully extended, the ladders 47, 47 normally hold the gudgeon pins at the level indicated by the gudgeonpin head 49a in FIG. 5. The longitudinal elements of the ladders are stretchable and resilient. In engaging the head 49a of each gudgeon pin 49 with its associated hold-down bracket 15, the end of the bottom bar 46 is depressed, and the head of the gudgeon pin passed beneath the tip of the forward cheek 21 and aligned with the gudgeonpin recess 18. Then the gudgeon-pin head 49a is passed upwardly between the cheeks 21, 21 and is forced past the constriction at 22, the cheeks 21, 21 and/or the head of the gudgeon pin yielding and the head of the gudgeon pin snapping past the constriction. As shown in FIG. 5, the head 49a of the gudgeon pin is held captive in the recess 18 but is freely rotatable to permit tilting of the bottom bar 46 that is shown in FIG. 4.

Reference will now be had to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. The end cap 48 has a cuplike body 48a which snugly fits the end of the bottom bar, which is designated 46 in FIG. 4 and 46 in FIG. 8. The bottom bar is the same in the two figures except for a possible difference in length; the bottom bar 46' being on a dilferent blind from bottom bar 46. The polyethylene material of the end cap 48 is sulficiently stretchable and resilient to enable the cuplike body 48a to grip the bottom bar. Adjacent to the mouth of the cup formation, the end cap has a rib 48b which extends beneath the bottom bar, and also in front and in back thereof, to be engageable with the window sill. The end cap has an end wall 48c which overlies the end of the bottom bar 46. In its central vertical plane as viewed in FIG. 10, the end wall 480 is pierced to snugly receive the cylindrical nose 4% of the gudgeon pin. Integral with the end wall 480 and with the top wall of the cuplike body 4811 as viewed in FIGS. 9 and 10 there is a cylindrical socket 48d which receives and grips and frictionally retains the cylindrical nose 49b of the gudgeon pin, leaving the enlarged cylindrical head 49a of the gudgeon pin projecting from the central vertical plane of the bottom bar when the end cap is on the bottom bar and the bottom bar is untilted. Surrounding the nose 49b of the gudgeon pin there is an annular shoulder 49c on the head 49a, and this shoulder is snugly against the end Wall 48c as is seen in FIG. 9.

In lieu of securing the hold-down brackets 15, -15 to the window sill as shown in FIG. 4, the brackets may be secured against the confronting faces of the jams; and it is necessary to do so when mounting a blind inside a window opening which has no sill. When the hold-down brackets are jamb-mounted, the blind is substantially as wide as the window opening, the bottom bar being of such length that the heads of the gudgeon pins will properly engage the brackets without scraping on the jambs when the blind is raised. FIG. 6 shows one of the brackets of a pair of brackets that are mounted on the confronting faces of the jambs of a window opening. In FIG. 6 the window opening is designated as a whole by 60. The jamb, which is considered to be of wood, is designated by 61. The face of the jamhwhich confronts the opposite jamb is designated by 62. The bracket 15 is attached to the jamb by a conventional wood screw 64 which passes through the hole 24 in the body 16 of the bracket and secures the body against the face 62 of the jamb. To prevent swivelling of the bracket on the screw 64, a suitable fastening such as a small nail 65 is driven into the jamb through the hole 27 in the body 16 of the bracket, this hole being shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

For a blind that is mounted on a door or mounted outside of a window opening, the two brackets of the pair stand horizontally as compared to the vertical disposition that is shown in FIGS. 4-6. The foot 17 of each bracket is secured against a vertical surface, i.e. against the face of the door or against a vertical surface that is adjacent to a window opening. FIGS. 7 and 8 show one bracket 15 of a pair of horizontally disposed brackets, the bracket in these figures being attached to a wall 70 adjacent to a window opening 71 which has no trim. The foot 17 of the bracket is secured against the face of the wall 70 by a conventional screw 72 which passes through the hole 30 (FIG. 1) in the foot of the bracket, and is driven into the wall or into a conventional plug or anchor that is inserted into the wall where the wall is of plaster, cementitious material or other material unsuited to receive a screw directly.

The bottom bar 46' of the blind is provided with an end cap 48 and gudgeon pin 49 as already described. With horizontally-disposed hold-down brackets 15 as in FIGS. 7 and 8, the head 49a of each gudgeon pin is passed horizontally into the foot-facing opening of the gudgeon-pin recess 18 that is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; therefore it is unnecessary to depress the bottom bar to enter the head of the gudgeon pin into the gudgeon-pin recess 18 of the bracket. The bottom bar 46', like the bottom bar 46, is of sheet metal rolled into a C formation with the opening of the C at the top when the bar is untilted. The opening in the C may be covered by a slat which rests on the top of the bottom bar, e.g. the slat 76 shown fragmentarily in FIG. 8.

Bottom bars which are A" wide and 1%" wide are in use. It is planned to so proportion the length of the bracket body 16 and the diameter of the head 49a of the gudgeon pin as to enable the end cap of a 1% bottom bar to swing close to the head of screw 72 without engaging it.

While the embossed formations which surround the screw holes 30 and 24 (FIGS. 1-3) are adapted to receive the tapered forward ends of the heads of conventional flathead screws as shown in FIGS. and 6, round-head screws having heads of suitable size may be used. In some instances the bracket will be attached to a jamb, sill or other structure which is made of sheet metal or other thin metal, in which case a self-tapping screw may be used to mount the bracket. Where the bracket 15' is mounted against the face of a thin-metal jamb, the nail 65 of FIG. 6 is replaced by a suitable fastening such as a tiny drivescrew or a tiny self-tapping screw that is driven through the small hole 27 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to prevent the bracket from swivelling on the mounting screw. The space between the cheeks 21, 21 is sufiicient for the insertion of a punch or a screwdriver for use in driving a drive screw or a self-tapping screw through the small hole 27, as the case may be.

It is contemplated that the hold-down bracket 15 will be stamped from soft cold rolled steel approximately .042" thick. While the steel may have a rust-resistant coating, it is contemplated that uncoated steel will be used and that the formed brackets will be electroplated with nickel, zinc, cadmium or other corrosion-resistant metal.

I claim:

1. A universal Venetian-blind hold-down bracket usable to receive a gudgeon pin projecting from either end of the bottom bar of a Venetian-blind, the bracket having a generally-flat body which is adapted to be attached to either jamb of a Window opening by being secured against the jamb-face which confronts the opposite jamb, the bracket also having a generally-fiat foot which is adapted to be secured against the top surface of the sill of a window opening or alternatively be secured against a vertical surface that is parallel to the expanse of the blind, and the bracket additionally having a gudgeon-pin recess that is offset from the body of the bracket at a distance from the foot of the bracket, the gudgeon-pin recess having an opening that faces the foot of the bracket and having a wall opposite to the foot-facing opening, wherein the improvement comprises:

the gudgeon-pin recess being alongside of the body of the bracket and being below the top of the body when the foot of the bracket is secured against the top surface of a window sill,

the wall of the gudgeon-pin recess opposite to said footfacing opening of such recess consisting of a web which extends perpendicularly from the body of the bracket at the end thereof that is away from the foot of the bracket,

and the gudgeon-pin recess having side walls consisting of spaced cheeks that are positioned alongside the body of the bracket and are perpendicular thereto,

these spaced cheeks extending from said web toward the foot of the bracket.

2. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 1 wherein the improvement further comprises:

the spaced cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess being convergent for a distance from said web toward the foot of the bracket, whereby the recess is provided with a constriction that is spaced from the web.

3. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 2 wherein the improvement further comprises:

the cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess extending beyond the constriction and diverging as they approach the foot-facing opening of the recess.

4. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 2 in combination with a gudgeon pin having a diameter slightly greater than the spacing of the cheeks at the constriction whereby, when the gudgeon-pin is forced sidewise into the gudgeon-pin recess, it snaps past the constriction and is then rotatable in the recess.

5. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 1 in which the body of the bracket is provided with a screw hole to receive a screw for attaching the bracket to a jamb, and wherein the improvement further comprises:

the body of the bracket being provided with a small hole that is spaced from the screw hole and through which a small fastening can be driven into the jamb to prevent swivelling of the bracket on the screw when the foot of the bracket is not engaged with a window sill,

the axis of the small hole extending between the cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess, and the separation of the cheeks of the gudgeon-pin recess providing space for the insertion of a tool for use in driving a fastening through the small hole.

6. A Venetian-blind holdaiown bracket as in claim 1 wherein the improvement further comprises:

the gudgeon-pin recess being bisected by a plane which passes through the center of the bracket-foot and which is perpendicular to both the bracket-foot and the bracket-body, said bracket being symmetrical about said plane.

7. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 1 which is made of stamped sheet metal, and wherein the improvement further comprises:

said web of the gudgeon-pin recess being sheet metal that is folded to extend from the end of the bracket body that is away from the foot of the bracket,

and the checks of the gudgeon-pin recess being sheet metal that is folded to extend from the opposite edges of said Web.

8. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 1 in which the body' of the bracket is provided with a screw hole to receive a screw for attaching the bracket to a jamb, and wherein the improvement further comprises:

the body of the bracket being provided with a small hole that is spaced from the screw hole, and through which a small fastening can be driven into the jamb to prevent swivelling of the bracket on the screw when the foot of the bracket is not engaged with a Window sill.

9. A Venetian-blind hold-down bracket as in claim 8 wherein the improvement further comprises:

the bracket being symmetrical about a plane which passes through the center of the small hole and is perpendicular to both the body of the bracket and the foot of the bracket.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Lorentzen 160178 Nelson 160349 Nelson 248-264 X Anderle 160178 Trumbull.

10 FOREIGN PATENTS 216,358 7/1958 Australia.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner. 5 P. c. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

